Have you been to any good leaving parties recently? Patti Seabright, senior consultant at training conultancy Pursuit International, thinks you may well have been. "Staff turnover is rapidly becoming one of the major issues for industry, especially in fmcg," she says. Seabright puts this down to two factors. Higher employment rates have sparked greater competition for high fliers and dot.com companies are spiriting away staff who might otherwise have stayed in traditional areas. Most large corporations say their staff are their greatest asset and pledge themselves to attract and retain top quality people in their mission statements. "Well it's easy to see the effort put into the attract' part of the equation: headhunters and recruitment agencies are booming," Seabright says. "When there's a gap that needs filling, it's a case of drop everything, advertise, interview, pay anything and get someone good in. But the other part of the equation?" Seabright is concerned that the average company turns over its staff every six years. The problems generated by the churn is that few people in many organisations have the knowledge, experience or loyalty that comes with long service. "There is a potential haemorrhage to the bottom line," warns Seabright, pointing to the threat of lost business, recruitment costs and down time' during induction. The Henley-on-Thames consultancy ­ formed after a management buyout of NHA International Consultancy and Training Associates from NHA International ­ has a five-point retention strategy. The first element is to understand why staff are leaving. "Often, it's not because of money but things such as recognition, career opportunities, empowerment or relations with a manager," says director Andy Ferguson. "Employers should try being proactive. Get an impartial survey on staff satisfaction and motivation. At worst be reactive and use exit interviews. Or strike a middle path and get out and talk to people, listen to what they have to say," Seabright says. Measuring and reviewing turnover will also give an employer an indication of whether or not there is a problem. Look at the costs of recruiting a new member of staff and multiply that by the number of staff who left in the past year to get a benchmark If retention is to become a management priority, there is a case to be made for rewarding line managers on their ability to retain staff. It is also worth adding to the agenda in regular meetings. Good managers are created, not born, and training will avoid simple pitfalls. "To be a good manager requires ability in areas such as coaching and counselling, as well as in technical areas, such as appraisal delivery," says Ferguson. "Use training as a retention incentive. A sound, long term programme can be a morale booster and motivator as well as delivering the functional benefits of the training itself." This strategy is one of the themes being developed for the Pursuit International website (www.pursuitint.com). {{PEOPLE MOVES }}